An exercise in critical thinking and hopefully some food for thought. There are no wrong answers.

[PoliticalMalcontent]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by NH Ethylene (a host of the General Discussion forum).

As stated in the title this is an exercise in critical thinking. There are no wrong answers, however you, the reader, are not going to take anything out of this exercise unless you are honest with yourself. That being said, again, there are no wrong answers and perception will undoubtedly play a heavy role in the exercise to come.

1.) In a hypothetical 2016 general election match-up between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders who would you bet money on?

2.) What is the support for your conclusion?

I'll chime in at some point with my own conclusions down thread. Hope I'm not the only one! -crosses his fingers-

[AgerolanAmerican]

1. My money is on Bernie

I can state without reservation that he is the least likely Democrat in the race to be indicted during the campaign.

[world wide wally]

7. Sounds like Trump ^

[Solly Mack]

2. My money is on this being General Discussion and not General Discussion Primary.

[PoliticalMalcontent]

3. Didn't seem like it had anything to do with the primary. If this is misfiled I apologize.

[MH1]

17. Seriously?

You post a "thought exercise" involving the two Democratic primary contenders, but don't think it has anything to do with the primary? Come on.

Actually I think it's an interesting challenge, but probably needs to not be in GD.

[silvershadow]

4. welcome to DU.

[PoliticalMalcontent]

5. My assessment though rose-colored glasses.

1. In this mock election I truly believe Sanders would have more appeal on a national level as of today and as such I would bet on him if the match-up were held nationally between these two candidates.

2. My support comes from the national favorability numbers. Polls of Clinton vs various generic GOP candidates have her underperforming when compared to Sanders.

Some things I think that party loyalists forget is that while hardcore democrats love Clinton (She seriously crushes Sanders among long-time Dems), the rest of the U.S. is pretty luke-warm or hateful of her. This is bared out in the favorability numbers and why she struggles against all of the GOP field, except for Trump. Fortunately people also hate Trump, but that's a while different post.

I believe in my heart of hearts that as of right now Sanders is the most electable candidate. Things change, but right now it's looking like Hillary Clinton does not give the party the best shot at winning the white house come November.

[PoliticAverse]

6. So in this hypothetical Sanders is running as the Democratic and Clinton as the Republican

party nominees?

[PoliticalMalcontent]

10. I was thinking more along the lines of two candidates, regardless of party affiliation.

My assumption is that people don't vote for a candidate based on the party they represent so much as the issues they agree/disagree on. Changing Hillary's political affiliation wouldn't win over Republicans. Likewise for Sanders. Sanders has been able to garner some support across the political spectrum though, which I find interesting.

[greyl]

8. Well exercised critical thought can identify wrong answers. nt

Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking, by Diane F. Halpern

edit: still 50 50 on Bernie or Hillary, to answer your first question.

[PoliticalMalcontent]

11. Thanks for the link and I agree.

[Quantess]

9. Who would I bet money on to win the presidential election? Hillary Clinton.

But I'd prefer Bernie Sanders, and he still has a good shot.
Trump also has a good shot.

If I were betting my own money.

Not sure how this is food for deep thought or critical thinking, though. You asked for our gut feelings.

[patricia92243]

12. In the General election, I would probably vote for Bernie. I like his ideas and think there would

be a good chance of his winning.

The Primaries are a different kettle of fish, but this post is about the General Election.

By the way, I like your idea. It is good for people to think beyond their little box.

Oh, and welcome to DU!! Great, great website (with a little tweaking to make it your own.)

[oberliner]

13. I'll take a shot

1. Hillary would win.

2. She consistently gets the support of around 80 percent of non-white voters.

[Blasphemer]

16. I agree with your assessment... nt

[Bluenorthwest]

14. So you are saying Hillary is the Republican nominee? What about a general election match-up between

Hillary and Carmen Miranda? If we are going to do hypothetical primary talks why not do some fun ones? How about Bernie Sanders vs Bill Clinton? What if Bernie picked Monica as VP and Bill picked Satan? Who'd win Nevada?

[bemildred]

15. I wouldn't.

Much too unpredictable.

[randome]

18. It's pretty much the same thing right now with 2 candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.

I said early on that I was tired of the older generation and preferred Sanders, but Clinton has the endorsements and the ability to forge coalitions and the delegate counts so far. That wouldn't change in a GE between the two.

If Clinton is not all we hope for, we should work on ways to push her further left instead of throwing up our hands and running away.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]

[Chemisse]

19. Locking

Please post OPs related to the Dem primaries in GD P.